A man who set a Fort Worth house on fire, causing the death of a 67-year-old woman who let him stay with her, was sentenced to life in prison.

Cliff Douglas Parker, 55, was convicted of manslaughter last week in the death of Betty Roberts, a widow of a Fort Worth Police Officer. Parker had a previous arson conviction for a 1997 fire in Ellis County. In that case, officials said he forced his 12-year-old daughter to light their house on fire and threatened to beat the girl and her 6-year-old sister if she didn't comply.

Parker moved into Roberts' duplex in the 8100 block of Arbor Avenue in the fall of 2011 with two other adults, Freddie Thomas and Janice Covington. On Sept. 19, 2011, Parker got into an argument with Thomas and Covington. Roberts asked him to leave in an effort to keep the peace in her house. Parker returned later that night and said he was going to burn the house down, according to Melody McDonald, spokeswoman for the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney.

After everyone went to bed, he lit a garage sofa on fire with a lighter, McDonald said. Parker later told homicide investigators that was an attempt to "smoke up the residence to the point where everyone had to leave."

When officers arrived, Covington was outside hysterical and Parker was smoking a cigarette calmly on the porch. Thomas and Roberts were taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital's burn unit. Thomas survived, but Roberts, who was known affectionately to people as "Mom," died after 52 days of thermal injuries to her lungs from inhaling smoke and fire debris.